Leinster Draw Big Crowd At Cill Dara Event

A huge crowd of well over 2,500 attended Leinster's open training session at Cill Dara RFC on Friday afternoon.

Supporters from right across the county of Kildare and beyond came in their hundreds and were in attendance well in advance of the Leinster squad's arrival a little after 11.15am for the intense training session which wound up just before 1pm.

For the first time this summer the crowd had a chance to watch the successful returning British & Irish Lions training alongside the province's current squad, which includes recent graduates from the Academy as well as new recruits Jimmy Gopperth and Mike McCarthy.

The Leinster panel also features former Cill Dara underage player Fergus McFadden who presented the club with a jersey from last season's victorious Treble-winning campaign.

After the session the squad posed for photographs and signed autographs for the expectant crowd and were delighted to pay tribute to the wonderful support received in Cill Dara RFC.

This was the latest in a series of recent pre-season provincial visits which has seen the Leinster squad train and meet supporters in Boyne, Clondalkin, Co. Carlow, Edenderry, Greystones, Kilkenny, Malahide, Mullingar, Portarlington, Portlaoise, Tallaght, Tullamore, Wexford Wanderers and Wicklow Rugby Clubs.

The Leinster squad will travel to the north of the province on Thursday, August 22 to Dundalk RFC as the province's pre-season preparations build towards the friendly game against Ulster the following day as well as the Bank of Ireland Series friendly against Northampton Saints at Donnybrook on Friday, August 30.